Sports Reporter

After Richie Porte led Chris Froome up the final mountain to the finish line and into position to win Thursday's fifth stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in the Alps and take the overall lead, the British Tour de France favourite went to great lengths in praising his Australian teammate.

As Froome also spoke about his own building form towards the Tour, one remark hinted that Porte's steady rise towards becoming the grand tour contender he wants to be could come sooner than he - or their British Sky team - plan, or are willing to publicly let on.

Many tip a duel between Froome and Spaniard Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff). However, Froome said on Thursday: ''There's a group of six or seven who are in with a chance of being in contention. At Sky, we're in a really fortunate position where we have two riders who could be in that seven.''

Froome was not referring to him and last year's British Tour winner, Bradley Wiggins, who, since pulling out of the Giro d'Italia recently said he would not start this year's race - citing a knee injury. Froome's reference is to him and Porte. They both live in Monte Carlo, have become close friends over the many hours they have trained and raced together and have shown several times this season that they make for a formidable two-pronged attack.

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There is no disputing Froome, 28, will be Sky's Tour leader, but Porte would be a strong 'Plan B' should he falter as the Dauphine, which finishes on Sunday, has shown. After Thursday's 139-kilometre fifth stage from Gresy-sur-Aix to Valmorel, Porte - after all his work - was still second overall at 52 seconds.

For Porte, it was the perfect position as Froome'swingman - poised to help should Froome need it, poised to strike should something happen to him.

It was a scenario that again would remind the Tasmanian that he did the right thing to extend his deal with Sky, despite interest from other teams - including the Australian Orica-GreenEDGE team - where he could have assumed immediate team leadership, rather than graduate to it as he is now.

This season, Porte, who joined Sky after 2010 to help Wiggins and Froome who both finished first and second in last year's Tour, has taken another step up towards a team leadership role, rather than as a wingman or second option. Since being offered the opportunity to lead Sky in shorter races, he has delivered with an overall win in Paris-Nice and second place in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in Spain.

He was also second in the Criterium International and eighth in the Tour de Romandie when helping Froomewin both events before the Criterium du Dauphine.

''Obviously at Sky you are going to be needed to pull for the two best [overall] riders in the world, but I'm going to get my opportunities. I have got them this year,'' Porte said before it was announced Sky had signed fellow Tasmanian Nathan Earle, 25, an excellent climber from the National Road Series team, Huon Salmon-Genesys, in a move that Porte had his say in and showed Sky are keen to start building a team around him.

Porte feels he would not get that support at Orica-GreenEDGE, who recognise they are not yet equipped to support a big-name contender.

''People ask me why I didn't go to the Aussie team, GreenEDGE,'' Porte explains. ''But … for me, it doesn't make sense to leave Sky at the moment. It's the best team in the world, and I don't think I'm going to fit in to GreenEDGE like I do at Sky; and GreenEDGE doesn't have the team that Sky have to possibly go to the Giro next year and [help him to] aim for the podium. I'm really happy to stay and work for 'Froomey' elsewhere if I have to.''

Porte's rise to aspired grand tour leadership has been a work in progress since he took up road cycling in 2006 at the age of 21.

It didn't take long for him to impress on the Australian domestic circuit when racing for the Praties team. Porte won the 2007 Tour of Bright, and then in 2008, he won the Tour of Perth and Tour of Tasmania and placed fifth overall in the Herald Sun Tour before moving to Europe in 2009 to race for the Italian Monsummanese Grassi Mapei amateur team with whom he placed 10th in the Tour of Langkawi and then in the Babi Giro (amateur Giro) took ninth place and won the time trial before joining the big league in 2010 to race for Dane Bjarne Rijs' Saxo Bank team - now known as Saxo-Tinkoff.

In 2010, Porte placed 10th in the Tour de Romandie (winning the time trial). In his grand tour debut in the Giro, he wore the leader's pink jersey for three days, and finished as best young rider and seventh overall. In the Tour of Britain, Eneco Tour and world time trial title in Geelong, he was fourth.

In 2011, Porte helped Contador win the Giro and place fifth in the Tour, after which he signed with Sky to pursue the career pathway that is now his.

Today, Porte agrees that he is more assured with his place: "I have the results and confidence ... I like to think I am better than this time last year."

Watch stage 7 of the Criterium du Dauphine - 187.5km, Le Pont-de-Claix to Superdvoluy - live from 9pm Saturday on Eurosport, or at SBS on live streaming, or catch delayed coverage on SBS 2 from 11.10pm. Watch stage 1 of the Tour of Switzerland live on Eurosport from 11.15pm

Twitter - @rupertguinness

4 comments so far

So by the time they give him a shot he will be too old and missed his chance, whilst working for froomey. Bloody unambitious Tasmanian idiot

Commenter

Hornberger

Date and time

June 08, 2013, 3:41AM

He's only 28. Cyclists don't peak till their 30's (ask Cadel). He's learning with the best and as has been proved for years if not decades, being a super domestique does not mean you will be a successful GC leader. You could look at Micheal Rogers for instance.

Commenter

Calm down

Date and time

June 08, 2013, 11:26AM

It's positive for Porte having such a strong team to learn the ropes in. Possibly a little naive thinking he'll get a lead ride in the Tour while Wiggans and Froome are there. I imagine Wiggins will relinquish the leadership about as easily as Julia has to Rudd.

Might be a better option to get on board a team like green edge and ride on the coat tails of the big teams like Cadel has.

Commenter

ekib

Date and time

June 08, 2013, 8:32AM

The links between Sky and Olympics Team GB are too strong for Porte to be the lead rider with any of their GB main contenders in the team. Unless there are squad changes or major drama he'll be plan B